Chapter 97: A unique and profitable "opening ceremony"
It's already been five years since I started learning the art. It's March now, and everywhere is filled with pink peach blossoms and green willows. I'm gradually getting into the groove.
I finally chose Xiaolin's plan and went to Jindian Decoration to bargain with Mr. Tan. During the negotiation, we exchanged sharp words and finally got the price down to 400,000.
Mr. Tan looked aggrieved. "If I didn't want to use you, Master Wan, to promote me, I would never have taken this order. The offer was already low, and you swung your sword at my head."
I looked at her and said with a smile, "Sister, to borrow your words, in such a vast sea of people, who told you to meet me?"
She looked heartbroken and said, "Okay, please help me introduce more business in the future."
I turned to Xiao Lin and said, "Sister Lin, Miss Lin, I'll leave all my efforts to you. You designed the drawings, and please supervise the construction team."
She squinted at me. "Oh, you've added another nickname. No need to ask for help. This is our duty. Just pick an auspicious day to start work and tell me a day in advance."
After walking out of Jindian Decoration, I drove around the completed Phase I and Phase II, and then I came up with an idea.
Back in the night talk room, I called my brother-in-law and asked him to come over.
My brother-in-law is a full-time purchasing agent. Actually, you don't have to do the shopping yourself. Now we have dedicated suppliers. Just make a phone call and they'll deliver the goods to your door. He's in charge of sorting and inspecting the ingredients.
We sat down, I poured him a cup of tea, and said, "Brother-in-law, I've found a way for you to make money."
He nodded and looked at me.
I explained it to him in detail: "These days, people only focus on moving ceremonies, but never on groundbreaking ceremonies. We need to build public opinion; groundbreaking is more important than moving. We must hire a professional to hold a groundbreaking ceremony. Later, you can do this when you have time."
My brother-in-law asked me how to conduct this ritual. It wasn't a problem for me; it had never been done before, so I was creating my own. So, he and I stood in the middle of the room, and I explained and taught, and together we modified it. We created a ritual procedure.
After it was basically formed, my brother-in-law slapped his thigh and said, "Shanhong, you have so many clever ideas."
I smiled and said, "The fee can't be low, one thousand yuan per session. It's like a female entrepreneur directing a group of people to make a hundred bowls of noodles."
He laughed like crazy.
At that moment, my phone rang. It was Director Ming. He lowered his voice and said, "Master, the branch just unanimously approved my proposal. Director Sun from the Municipal Bureau attended the meeting and praised me as a good cadre with pioneering thinking and the courage to act... I am truly grateful to you."
I was so excited about making money from my original creation that I casually replied, "That's great! You'll be promoted in the future."
I guess he burst into tears after hearing what I said, and his voice was indeed a little choked up: "I will always remember you."
I didn't want to say anything more to him, so I hung up the phone and said to my brother-in-law, "Let's write down the ceremony procedures and fix them. From now on, we'll follow this routine. If I have time, I'll participate. If not, you can do it alone."
My brother-in-law was about to speak when my cell phone rang again. If it was an unimportant call, I would have hung up, but this call was from Lao Xiao.
I laughed and said, "Lao Xiao, Lao Xiao, you must be busy making money, that's why you took so long to call me."
He reviewed his position over the phone, saying he had just arrived, was unfamiliar with the business, and was overwhelmed by the workload. Then he told me mysteriously that this emerging business had great potential and urged me to join him in building a big business.
I laughed out loud: "Lao Xiao, wait until you make 10 million and can drive a Mercedes-Benz or BMW before you call me. I'd better learn some skills first."
Lao Xiao wanted to say something, but I interrupted him: "I have something to do. I'm busy."
He understood what I meant and said quickly, "Okay. I won't come to see you unless I drive a Porsche."
After hanging up the second call, I asked my brother-in-law, "What did you want to say just now?"
My brother-in-law smiled and said, "How did you come up with this idea?"
I opened my eyes and spoke frankly, "Isn't it because of the financial pressure? I also have an advantage. When people choose a house, they always ask me, and some even ask me to go and check the feng shui on site."
With this advantage, I would tell the other party that a groundbreaking ceremony must be held. Tell the Earth Bodhisattva that you are going to move in.
My brother-in-law said, "That's right, people in the city don't care about moving these days, they just have a meal with friends and family and that's it."
I nodded and said, "Yes, if you move in, even the Earth Bodhisattva won't know you're living there. That's very disrespectful to the Bodhisattva. The Earth Bodhisattva only governs a five-li area, but if you don't respect him within that five-li area, he can easily trip you up and make you suffer."
My brother-in-law clapped his hands and said, "Shanhong, Shanhong, you were born to make money with your intelligence."
Suddenly, he stopped and asked, "What was the first sentence you said?"
I said, "Isn't it because of the financial pressure?"
Gao Xu, incredibly clever, immediately said, "You came up with this idea. You also have the advantage of mobilizing others. Plus, you may not always be available. So, when I work alone, we'll split the profits 50-50, giving you half."
This hit a chord with me, so I said, "It's 70% to 30%. After all, you put in more effort than I do."
My brother-in-law wanted to argue with me, but I said, "It's settled. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day. Let's start with my house and make a model for everyone to see. Go buy a blue ceremony robe. You can buy them at Buddhist supply stores."
My brother-in-law excitedly high-fived me and went shopping.
I went upstairs and said to my mother, "Please help me find my ceremonial uniform. I remember you kept it for me."
She asked, "What major ceremony is going to take place?"
I smiled and said, "I'm going to start the renovation myself. I'm going to hold a groundbreaking ceremony. The whole family will go together."
She laughed and said, "You have so many ideas."
I put on my ceremonial attire and looked at myself in the mirror in my wardrobe. I felt so elegant. My mother praised me, saying, "You look good in anything."
I teased her, "You're just like you were when you were young. Back then, you were also a beautiful girl, and you found a husband who was paid by the government."
She raised her hand and slapped him: "You have no respect for your parents. You are making fun of your mother?"
I said seriously, "Really? You're beautiful and good at housekeeping. Now you practice Tai Chi and wear Tai Chi clothes. Who would have known you were an old lady from the countryside? Everyone said you were a retired female cadre."
My mother grabbed my ear and pinched it hard: "You are so sweet. Don't go out and tease other girls. You are so devoted to waiting for that Lan... Where is Lan?"
"Orchid grass."
"Yes, bluegrass."
I laughed so hard that I broke out in laughter.
At this moment, my phone rang for the third time. It was Chairman Song. "Shanhong, please come to my place this afternoon so we can discuss how to hold the next term. Do you have time?"
"If we have time, who else is there? Xi Ruoqin, Linghu Yitong, oh, okay, okay."
I took off my ceremonial robe, went downstairs with it, returned to the room, and called Xiaolin.
"Sister Lin, I will start work the day after tomorrow. However, I will be different from others. I want to hold a ceremony to start the work. Please prepare a square table, incense, paper money, and bowls for me..."
"Is it still so grand?"
"We've already started construction, and even the Earth Bodhisattva doesn't know about it. If the Bodhisattva trips things up, everything will go wrong. We were transporting things, but there was a power outage, the elevator didn't work, and the workers were supposed to be breaking down the wall, but they ended up hitting their own feet. Why not do something small to make things go smoothly?"
She said word by word, "You are so thoughtful. I will prepare everything for you."
I said, "You are much more capable than Lin Daiyu in Dream of the Red Chamber."
She didn't say anything for a long time, probably because her face was blushing.
After a while, he said, "You have quite a lot of tricks."
After we hung up, I couldn't figure out what she meant. I thought about it for a while, my face turning red and pale.
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